Podcast Episodes

Story time

Much ado was made about a cancelled auction of an ultra-rare set of Shakespeare’s folios, which could have fetched millions of dollars.

This headline – along with Shakespeare being one of the world’s…

Published on 4 months, 1 week ago

Enduring it all

This month will see thousands of people take to streets around the world to test their feats of endurance. It’s marathon season. And this week, we’re looking at the science behind what keeps you runn…

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Ant antics

This week, a court in Kenya sentenced four men to either a year in prison or a fine of £5,800 for trying to smuggle 5,000 ants out of the country. The contraband included highly-valued ants like the …

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago

In memoriam

On 21st April 2025, Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, died.

His funeral took place on 26th April, with thousands of mourners crowding into St Peter’s Square to pay their respects.

Follo…

Published on 5 months ago

Kenya believe it?

This week the Unexpected Elements team left our windowless BBC studio and paid a visit to the CGIAR conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

In this episode, we find out about the Kenyan invention that’s pullin…

Published on 5 months, 1 week ago

An eggciting episode

This week is the Christian celebration of Easter, which sent the Unexpected Elements team scrambling for egg-related stories.

First up, we find out about the rise of a vegan egg substitute.

Next, we …

Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago

Navigating northward

The Aurora Borealis – also known as the Northern Lights – won’t be at their peak activity much longer, and the Unexpected Elements team dreams of going north to see them. And that has got us looking …

Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Oh, Rats!

On World Rat Day, we’re getting ratty! We look at the biology behind the eternal struggle between rats and rat poison, and we hear about rat-on-rat warfare and other forms of pest control.

We don’t …

Published on 5 months, 4 weeks ago

Don’t be a fool!

April 1st is notorious across the globe. Renowned for being a day of practical jokes. And it’s no different here on the BBC World Service.

Mischievous elephants, the secret to fool's gold and one of …

Published on 6 months ago

What’s that smell?

Five years ago, people around the world were enduring COVID lockdowns as we attempted to prevent the spread of the virus. Today, many of those who caught COVID-19 are still suffering from lingering s…

Published on 6 months, 1 week ago